House Democrats urge Albright
to allow high-level contacts with Taiwan

Washington, 25 August 2000

On 25 August 2000, seven Democratic members of the US House of
Representatives wrote Secretary Madeleine Albright urging her to end
the inappropriate ban on high-level visits between elected Taiwanese
officials and US officials.

The Democrats expressed their strong disappointment at the State
Department's restrictions on Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's
stopover in Los Angeles in mid-August 2000, and stated that the US
policy towards China and Taiwan should be evenhanded: "Since
Jiang Zemin comes to the United States to give his views, Chen
Shui-bian and his ministers should have the same right", the
Congressmen stated in their letter.